The Dow Jones industrial average edged up 75.95 points, or 0.7%, during the report period ended Aug. 29 to close at 11,215.10. Trading, however, was light in anticipation of the Labour Day holiday.
The strong U.S. economy is holding the price of gold in check at US$273.40 per oz. on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, though most mining issues were mixed, at best, for the week. Among the majors, Newmont Mining was off 19 to US$17.50; AngloGold shed 25 to US$19.31; Nasdaq-listed Gold Fields lost 16 to close at US$3.59; and Lihir Gold plunged $1.25 to US$7.50 in light trading on the Nasdaq.
On a brighter note, Harmony Gold Mining picked up 19 to close at US$5.19, Southern Peru Copper rose 63 to close at US$13.94, and Broken Hill Proprietary advanced 31 to US$22.62, as copper prices climbed to US88 per lb. on the Comex.
Meanwhile, American Stock Exchange- listed Apex Silver Mines gained 63 to close at US$10.38, and Coeur d’Alene Mines added 18 to close at US$1.56. Hecla Mining, however, slumped to a new low of US75, down 13.
Big mining conglomerates fared poorly during the week, as Rio Tinto lost $1.25 to close at US$68.75, Anglo American, its rival for Australia’s North Ltd., fell 69 to US$56.06, and Nasdaq-listed De Beers Consolidated Mines dropped 87 to US$27.38. Reversing the trend was Australia’s WMC, which picked up 63 to close at US$19.38.
Stillwater Mining rode the surge in the platinum-palladium market, climbing $3.19 to close at US$33.94 on the American Stock Exchange, while Nasdaq junior Royal Gold slipped 26 to US$3.12.
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